Control apparatus for gas burners



' Oct. 24, 1961 R @LE NAM 3,348,561 v CONTROL APPARATUS FOR GAS BURNERS Filed June so. 1965 v v ZSheets-Sheet 1 QFILII A INVENTOR. Max/41 E/WACZ'A AM/V Arron/2 Oct. 24, 1967 J. R. MaCLENNAN 3,348,561

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR GAS BURNERS Filed June 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m CONNECTING 445 I'SLOT I PROGRAMMING SLOT FIXED PROGRAMMING '5 ull l 47 GUIDE 57.5

29 31 50 I" El 6 57a 57 FIE 5 INVENTOR.

c/amv I? M404 E/VA/A/V ATTOPNEV United States Patent 3,348,561 CONTROL APPARATUS FOR GAS BURNERS John R. MacLennan, Miraleste, Calif., assignor to Honeywell Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 30, 1965, Ser. No. 468,239 12 Claims. (Cl. 13766) This invention relates to control apparatus and more specifically to an improved fuel flow control valve. In particular, the invention relates to an improved valve for controlling gaseous fuel and having means for precluding a particular sequence of operation of the valve which could result in an accumulation of gas and hence an unsafe condition at the burner controlled by the valve.

In many gas valves there is provided a manually operable valve, generally having at least three angular positions, off, pilot and on and, in series with the manual valve, a safety valve which automatically closes should the pilot flame, at the burner controlled by the valve, be extinguished. Various arrangements of this general type have been proposed and many are available on the market today. Generally these valves include a socalled safe lighting provision so that the safety valve can be reset only when the manual valve is in a closed position and so that the manual valve can be rotated to the on position only by releasing the means for opening the safety valve so that if the safety valve is not held open in response to a pilot flame, it will close and interrupt the flow of gas to the burner. It has been found, however, that through inadvertence in the operation of valves of this type, the home owner or other person operating the valve may operate it in a manner, which causes a dangerous condition, which could result in an explosion. This can be brought about by rotating the valve momentarily from an -on position, or a pilot position toward the OE position sufficiently far to extinguish the pilot flame (with the flame responsive means holding the safety'valve open) and then immediately rotating the valve toward its on position. Since there is always some time lag in the flame responsive device, it will hold the safety valve open for a period of time after the flame is extinguished. Thus, it is possible to move the valve to extinguish the flame and then turn it back on and have gas flowing to the burner, without a flame, for a period of several seconds or even a minute or more. Obviously, if an attempt is made to ignite the burner after such gas has accumulated at the burner, a dangerous explosion may result.

The possibility of such a dangerous condition being brought about by inadvertent action of the person operating the valve has been recognized in the past. For example, U.S. Patent No. 3,099,994 issued to Putz et al. is directed to a gas valve which utilizes two axially movable disk valves, one of which is operated by a cam driven by a manual control member and the other a thermocouple safety valve. The patent discloses a complicated locking arrangement which precludes the manual valve from being turned back on, once it is moved from on to .off, until the safety valve has closed.

My invention accomplishes the end result accomplished by the :Putz et al. patent but in a substantially simpler manner. Instead of latching the rotary valve so that it cannot be rotated until the safety valve is closed, I provide a means for operably disconnecting the manually operable knob from the rotary valve whenever the rotary valve is in its off position and the safety valve is open. It is recognized that, broadly, the idea of disconnecting a safety valve, such as a thermoelectrically operated safety valve, from a manual operator when the manual operator is rotated to an off position and the valve closure member is held open by the thermocouple operated device, is old in the prior art as disclosed in the Thomas Patent No. 2,988,098. Thomas utilizes a single valve closure member which acts as a safety valve in that it will be automatically closed if the flame at the burner is extinguished and as a manual valve in that it may be disconnected from the thermocouple operated armature to manually close it.

My invention is considered an improvement over the valves of Putz et al. and Thomas, discussed above. It provides the normally desirable features of a manually operable rotary valve which may be manually manipulated between a plurality of positions such as on, and o and which has the usual safety valve feature. In addition, it provides means for operably disconnecting the manual operator from the rotary valve to prevent rotation of the valve from an off or flame extinguishing position to a pilot or on position whenever the safety valve is open. The invention also may include the provision of an arrangement so that the manual operator is operably disconnected to preclude rotation of the manual valve from a pilot to an on position if the safety valve is closed. Thus, my invention provides a valve which has all of the features generally found in a high quality gas control valve but adds another safety feature which precludes the occurrence of the unsafe condition discussed above. Various objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed de-' scription of a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein reference is made to the drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 discloses a horizontal cross-sectional view of a gas control valve constructed according to my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken generally along line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken generally along line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view disclosing a manual operator for the valve.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view disclosing portions of the-valve of- FIGURE 1 with certain portions thereof shown schematically for purposes of illustrating the oper-ation of the valve.

Referring to FIGURE 1, numeral 10 generally designates a gas valve with a main valve body 11 having an inlet port 12 and an outlet port 13. In the passage, between the inlet and outlet port, there is disclosed a rotary plug valve 14 and, in series therewith, a thermocouple operated safety valve 15. Plug valve 14 includes a tapered body portion 16 disposed in a mating tapered opening 17 in the valve body and an upwardly extending hollow cylindrical portion 20 which will be discussed further hereinafter. Formed at the bottom of the tapered portion 16 is a valve seat 21 surrounding the opening to a cylindrical cavity 22 in the plug valve. Extending through the wall of the plug and intersecting cavity 22 is a main flow passage 23 which has connected thereto a relatively small pilot flow passage 24 (see FIGURE 2) which extends from passage 23 and around the periphery of the plug valve approximately Formed in body 11, and around the tapered opening 17 into which plug valve 14 fits, is a pilot outlet passage 25 and, spaced approximately 90 therefrom, a main outlet passage 13a which connects to outlet port 13.

Cooperable with valve seat 21 is a valve closure member 26 which forms a part of the safety valve structure 15. Closure member 26 is connected by an appropriate stem 27 to an armature 28 located in a housing 30 which contains an electromagnet 31 which is connected by appropriate leads to a thermocouple 32 disposed to be heated by' the flame at a pilot burner (not shown) to 3 which fuel is controlled by the valve. Housing 30 is fixed to a bottom plate 33 of the valve body by appropriate means, such as a nut 34. Stem 27 is reciprocable back and forth through an opening in the housing and is sealed with respect thereto by appropriate means, such as a seal 35. Armature 28 is connected to this stem in any appropriate manner, for example, as by the swivel connection disclosed in FIGURE 1. A spring 36 acting between the underside of closure member 26 and the top side of housing 30 urges closure member 26 into engagement with seat 21. Electromagnet 31 is of sufficient strength to hold the valve open in opposition to spring 36 when the valve is manually opened but is not of sul cient strength to move the safety valve from a closed to an open position.

Connected to the upper side of safety valve closure member 26 is a further valve stem 37. Stem 37 extends through chamber 22, upwardly through an axially extending opening 40 in portion 16 and through hollow portion 20 at the upper end of the plug valve. As can best be seen by referring to FIGURE 3, opening 40 is a generally elongated rectangular shaped opening with stem 37 centered therein. The plug valve is splined to stem 37 by means of a pair of laterally extending pins 37a and 37b extending from opposite sides of stem 37. Thus, stem 37 is nonrotatable with respect to plug valve 14 but is axially moveable with respect thereto.

A cover plate 41 is attached to the to of body 11 by appropriate means, such as screws 42. A spring 43 acting between the underside of cover plate 42 and the top of plug 16 urges the plug tightly into engagement with the tapered walls of the opening 17. On top of the valve there is provided a manual control knob 44 which is a generally inverted cup-shaped member having an annular downwardly extending outer Wall 44a and a central cylindrical downwardly extending portion 44b which extends into hollow cylindrical portion 22 at the upper end of plug valve 14. Cylindrical portion 44b has a central opening 44c into which the upper end of stem 37 extends. Between the underside of cylindrical portion 44b and the tOp of plug 16 there is a spring 45 which urges a Washer 46 into engagement with a sealing member 47 which eugages the upper surface of plug 16 to provide a fluid tight seal between the plug and the stem.

Downwardly extending cylindrical portion 44b is connected to'the upper end of stem 37 by means of a laterally extending connecting pin 50 rigidly fixed to one side of stem 37 and extending into a generally T-shaped connecting slot 51 in the wall of portion 44b. This slot can be better understood by referring to FIGURE 4 and will be described further in connection with FIGURE 6. The slot has a horizontal portion 51a extending approximately one-half of the way around the periphery of portion 44b. Intersecting one end of horizontal portion 51a is a vertical portion 51b of the slot. As will be described subsequently herein, connecting pin 50 and connecting slot 51 form a continuous unidirectional connection between knob 44 and stem 37 so that when knob 44 is rotated in one direction, it always carries stem 37 with it, but S that the connection between the two members in the opposite angular direction is disengageable and is dependent upon the axial position of pin 50 in vertical portion 51b of the slot.

Extending upward from cover 41, and secured thereto by appropriate means such as one of the screws 42, is a programming guide 52 which extends upwardly into the interior of knob 44 and has an end portion 52a which extends into a programming slot 53 formed in the inner surface of downwardly extending wall 44a of knob 44, A spring 54 urges knob 44 upwardly so that portion 52a of the guide normally engages the lower surface of the programming slot. This programming guide and slot cooperate to provide a programming means so that the knob can be rotated from an elf toward an on position only by a particular sequence of manipulations which include both axial and rotative movement. This programming arrangement will be described in greater detail in connection with the operation of the device wherein reference will be made to FIGURE 6. Reference should here also be made to FIGURE 5 which discloses a to view of knob 44 in the position it occupies when the valve is in the position disclosed in FIGURE 1. It will be noted that the upper surface of knob 44 is marked with indicia indicating positions corresponding to on, pilo and off positions. This indicia cooperates with an arrow 55 or the like on the top of cover 41.

As stated previously, the operation of the valve can best be understood by referring to FIGURE 6 wherein cer-tain portions have been shown schematically to clarify the operation. Specifically, FIGURE 6 has the manual control knob 44 rolled flat and with connecting slot 51 and programming slot 53 both shown in a single plane so that the cooperation between these two slots and the cooperating connecting pin 50 and programming guide 52, respectively, can be understood.

In FIGURE 6, knob 44 is shown in the off position, plug valve 14 is in a position so that both pilot passage 25 and main outlet passage 13a are closed off, and safety valve means 15 is closed since the pilot burner to which it responds would be extinguished. It will be recalled that spring 54 continuously urges knob 44 upwardly so that it assumes a vertical position dependent upon the abutment of programming guide 52 with programming slot 53. In the o position, end 52a of programming guide 52 abuts the bottom of a vertical portion 53a of the programming slot. In this position, with safety valve closure member 26 closed and knob 44 in the off position, pin 50 is disposed in vertical portion 51b of slot 51 but centrally located therein so that it is aligned with horizontal portion 51a of the slot. In order to rotate knob 44 towards the pilot position, it is necessary to depress knob 44 so that guide 52 moves along a horizontal portion 53b of the programming sl-ot. When knob 44 is so depressed, it moves relative to stem 37 and pin 50 occupies the upper end of vertical portion 51b of the connecting slot. Now,

when knob 44 is rotated in a clockwise direction pin 50 is engaged by a surface 60 adjacent slot 51. Knob 44 may now be rotated until programming guide 52 reaches a vertical portion 53c of programming slot 53.

At this point plug valve 14 is disposed in a position wherein main passage 23 aligns with pilot outlet passage 25. Knob 44 is now depressed a substantial distance determined by the length of portion 530 in slot 53. In so doing pin 50 is abutted by the surface of knob 44 above vertical portion 51b of the connecting slot and stem 37 is moved downwardly to reset safety valve 26 by holding armature 28 in engagement with electromagnet 31. Gas is being supplied to the pilot burner and when this burner is ignited the thermocouple 32 is energized and, in turn, energizes electromagnet 31. Thus, after holding knob 44 depressed for a short period of time it can be released and armature 28 will be held by electromagnet 31 so that safety valve 26 remains open. When knob 44 is released spring 54 urges it upwardly to a position wherein programming guide 52 occupies a horizontal portion 53d of programming slot 53. Knob 44 can now be rotated further in the clockwise direction to a position where the on indication aligns with arrow 55. When knob 44 is so released and moves upwardly with respect to stem 37, it will again occupy the same position as it originally had, as shown in FIGURE 6. However, since safety valve 26 is held open, stem 37 and pin 50 occupy a lower position. Thus, pin 50 will be bottomed in vertical portion 51b of connecting slot 51. As knob 44 is rotated in a clockwise direction, a surface 61 adjacent slot 51 engages pin 50 and forms an operable connection between knob 44 and stem 37. Thus, as knob 44 is rotated to the on position, plug valve 14 is also rotated to its on position wherein main port 23 is aligned with outlet port 13a and pilot gas groove 24 aligns with pilot outlet passage 25 so that gas is supplied to both the pilot and the main outlets.

As described thus far, the operation of the valve is generally similar to that of previous valves of this type. However in order to understand the advantages provided by my invention, assume that when the valve is in either the pilot or on position and a pilot flame exists at the pilot burner so that magnet 31 is energized and the safety valve held open, knob 44 is rotated to off. The connection provided by pin 50 and slot 51 provides a continuous unidirectional connection between the knob and stem for rotation of the members in the counterclockwise direction, that is, from on towards ofi. This is provided by the abutment of pin 50 with the vertical wall 62 adjacent vertical portion 51b of slot 51, opposite from horiztonal portion 51a of the slot. Thus, no matter what relative axial positions knob 44 and stem 37 occupy, there is always provided a connection therebetween for rotation in the counterclockwise direction. If, as assumed, knob 44 is rotated to its off position so that plug 16 is rotated to interrupt the gas flow to the burner, the pilot flame will be extinguished. However, as noted previously, it takes a finite time for the thermocouple to cool sufliciently so'that electromagnet 31 will become operably de-energized and release armature 28 so that safety valve 26 closes. This may take a matter of thirty to sixty seconds or more. In a conventional gas valve the plug valve could then be rotated back to the on position with the safety valve open but no flame actually existing at the burner so that a substantial amount of gas would accumulate before the safety valve closed.

My invention eliminates the possibility of this occurring since, when safety valve 26 is open, stem 37 is in its lowered position so that pin 50 is also lowered. By referring to FIGURE 1 it will be seen that if safety valve 26 is open, pin 50 will occupy the lowermost end of the vertical portion of slot 51 when knob 44 is in its ,olf position. If knob 44 is then depressed to move it toward the pilot position, pin 50 will align with horizontal portion 51a of the connecting slot. Thus, when knob 44 is rotated toward the pilot position it simply rotates with respect to pin 50 and stem 37 and it is impossible to move'plug valve 14. However, as soon as the thermocouple has cooled sufficiently so that the safety valve closes, the valve can again be opened in the manner described previously, in other words with the safety valve closed, pin 50 will be disposed in the uppermost end of the vertical portion of the connecting slot when knob 44 is depressed so that the knob and stem are then operably connected.

It will be noted that in order to bring this safety feature into play, it is not necessary that knob 44 be rotated all the way to the off position. In fact, it is only necessary that the knob be rotated in a counterclockwise direction from the pilot or on positions sufliciently so that guide 52 is disposed in portion 53b of the programming slot. Any time that the safety valve is open so that stem 37 and pin 50 occupy their lower axial positions and knob 44 is in an axial position so that programming guide 52 aligns with portion 53b of the slot, pin 50 is aligned with horizontal portion 51a of connecting slot 51 and rotation of knob 44 simply results in movement of the knob with respect to the pin and stem. It will be appreciated that the point at which the pilot flame would actually be extinguished, would probably be some place intermediate the pilot and the absolute off position and consequently it is desirable that the interrupting function be brought into play before the knob is turned all the way to the off position. My invention contemplates the interruption of the connection between the knob and the rotary valve whenever the valve is rotated toward the off position regardless of whether or not this interruption takes place only when the knob reaches the absolute off position or if it takes place 44 and plug valve 14 are disposed in the pilot position and that knob 44 has been depressed to reset the safety valve. As noted previously, if a flame is established so that electromagnet 31 is energized, upon release of knob 44 the magnet will holdthe safety valve open. When pro gramming guide 52 is aligned with portion 53d of the programming slot, pin 50 is'disposed in the lowermost end of vertical portion 51b of the connecting slot so that when knob 44 is rotated to the on position it carries with it the plug valve. If for some reason, when knob 44 is released after depressing it to perform the resetting function, the safety valve fails to remain open, pin 50' will be aligned with horizontal portion 51a of the connecting Slot when programming guide 52 is aligned with portion 53b of the programming slot. Thus, rotation of knob 44 will not result in any rotation of the plug valve since the knob and stem are Operably disconnected.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that this invention provides an improved fuel valve with an important safety feature which precludes certain unsafe operation thereof. Operably disconnecting the manual control knob from the rotary valve when the valve is operated to a position where such an unsafe condition might occur, precludes damage to the valve should the operator attempt to force it as might be the case if the valve were mechanically latched.

My description herein has been of a preferred embodiment and various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. For example, I have disclosed and described a plug valve as the manually operable rotary valve but obviously the invention may be applied equally as well to other rotary valves, such as the disk-type sometimes used in gas valves. Further, I have shown and described a thermocouple operated safety valve. The invention is equally applicable to systems using some other type of operating means for this valve, for example a bimetal operated mechanism wherein the bimetal provides a mechanical or electrical output in response to the presence of flame. Also, I have describe-d the safety valve as being manally reset by operation of the manual control knob. Various means for resetting such valves are'well known in the art and, therefore, the invention is intended to include any means for resetting. Thus, when the phrase when it is otherwise opened is used in claims with reference to the safety valve, it is contemplated to include any type of resetting mechanism.

Additionally, I have disclosed the programming means as including a guide member attached to the body of the valve and slot in the manual control knob. It will be appreciated that, if desired, this arrangement may be reversed without departing from the invention. Similarly, the connecting means between the knob and the stem is preferably a slot in the knob and a pin extending thereinto from the stem, but this arrangement may also be reversed if desired without departing from the spirit of the invention. Further, as noted previously, the invention is considered to include arrangements wherein the knob is operably disconnected from the stem only when it is rotated to an absolute off position as well as to this preferred embodiment wherein the knob is operably disconnected at any time when it is rotated toward the off position from the pilot position. Thus, as used herein,

off position or flame extinguishing position is used in a sense that it covers either of these arrangements. It is not essential that the valve include both a pilot and an on position and, as used in certain of the claims herein, the terms fuel-flow position, flame sustaining position and the like may include a position wherein only a pilot flow exists or only a main flow exits or wherein both pilot and main flow exists through the valve. In view of these and other modifications which may become apparent from my description, without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims and not by the detailed description set forth therein.

1 claim:

1. A fuel valve comprising: a body having a passage therethrough; safety valve means including a valve closure member in said passage and flame responsive means to hold said closure member open when it is otherwise opened; a rotary valve member in said passage in series with said safety valve closure member and rotatable between off, pilot and on positions; a manual control knob for rotating said rotary valve and for manually opening said safety valve closure member; programming means between said valve body and said knob and including a programming guide on one and a cooperating slot on the other, said programming means rendering said knob rotatable from said off position toward said pilot position only upon said knob being depressed a predetermined distance with respect to said body, permitting further depression of said knob to accomplish manual opening of said safety valve closure member only when said knob is in said pilot position, and permitting rotation of said knob from said pilot position to said on position only when said knob is retracted from said body a predetermined distance; a valve stem nonrotatably connected to said rotary valve member but axially movable with respect thereto and operably connected to said safety valve closure member; connecting means between said knob and said valve stem and including a T shaped connecting slot on one of said knob or stem, the slot including a vertical portion having an upper portion and a lower portion and intersected substantially at its vertical center by a horizontal slot which extends in one direction from said vertical slot; and a connecting pin rigidly connected to the other of said knob or stem and disposed in said slot, said connecting pin and slot and said programming slot and guide being so arranged that when said safety valve is closed, depression of said knob to rotate said knob from the off to the pilot" position causes said pin to be disposed in the upper vertical portion of said connecting slot and rotation of said knob causes rotation of said stem and said rotary valve, and so that if said safety valve closure member is open when said knob is depressed to move from said off position, or a position intermediate said off and pilot positions, toward said pilot position, said connecting pin is disposed in the horizontal portion of said connecting slot and said knob is rotated with respect to said stem and said rotary valve, and so that when said knob is retracted and rotated from said pilot position toward said on position, said connecting pin is disposed in the lower part of said vertical portion of the connecting slot if said safety valve closure member is open but is disposed in the horizontal portion of said connecting slot if said safety valve closure member is closed so that said knob can then be rotated with respect to said stem and said rotary valve member, the walls surrounding the vertical portion of said slot on the side opposite from said horizontal portion continuously forming an abutment surface for engagement with said connecting so that said knob is continuously operably connected to said stem and to said rotary valve for rotation in a direction from said on position towards said off position.

2. A fuel valve comprising: a body having a passage therethrough; safety valve means including a valve closure member in said passage and flame responsive means to hold said closure member open when it is otherwise opened; a rotary valve member in said passage in series with said safety valve closure member and rotatable between off, pilot and on positions; a manual control knob for rotating said rotary valve; programming means between said valve body and said knob and including a programming guide on one and a cooperating slot on the other, said programming means rendering said knob rotatable from said off position toward said pilot position only upon said knob being axially moved a predetermined distance in a first direction with respect to said body, and permitting rotation of said knob from said pilot position to said on position only when said knob is axially moved a predetermined distance in the opposite direction; a valve stem nonrotatably connected to said rotary valve member but axially movable with respect thereto and operably connected to said safetyvalve closure member; and connecting means between said knob and said valve stem, said connecting means including a T-shaped connecting slot on one of said knob or stem and a cooperating connecting pin on the other, said slot including a horizontal portion intersected at one end by a vertical portion having an end above and an end below said horizontal portion, said connecting pin being movably disposed in said slot, said connecting pin and slot and said programming slot and guide being so arranged that when said safety valve is closed, axial movement of said knob to facilitate rotation of said knob from the off toward the pilot position causes said pin to be disposed in one of said ends of said vertical portion of said connecting slot to operably connect said knob to said stem, and so that if said safety valve closure member is open when said knob is so axially moved, said connecting pin is disposed in the horizontal portion of said connecting slot and said knob is rotated with respect to said stem, and so that when said knob is moved axially in the opposite direction to facilitate rotation from said pilot position toward said on position, said connecting pin is disposed in the other of said ends of said vertical portion of the connecting slot if said safety valve closure member is open but said pin is disposed in the horizontal portion of said connecting slot if said safety valve closure member is closed so that said knob can then be rotated with respect to said stem and said rotary valve member, the walls surrounding the vertical portion of said slot on the side opposite from said horizontal portion continuously forming an abutment surface for engagement with said connecting pin so that said knob is continuously operably connected to said stem and to said rotary valve for rotation in a direction from said on position towards said off position.

3. A fuel valve comprising: a body having a passage therethrough; safety valve means including a valve closure member in said passage and flame responsive means to hold said closure member open when it is otherwise opened; a rotary valve member in said passage in series with said safety valve closure member and rotatable between off and on positions; a manual control knob for rotating said rotary valve; programming means between said valve body and said knob and including a programming guide on one and a cooperating slot on the other, said programming means rendering said knob rotatable from said off position toward said on position only upon said knob being moved axially a predetermined distance with respect to said body; a valve stem nonrotatably connected to said rotary valve member but axially movable with respect thereto and operably connected to said safety valve closure member; connecting means between said knob and said valve stem, said connecting means including a connecting slot on one of said knob or stem and a cooperating pin on the other, said slot including a horizontal portion intersected at one end by a vertical portion, said connecting pin being movably disposed in said slot, said connecting pin and slot and said programming slot and guide being so arranged that when said safety valve is closed, axial movement of said knob to facilitate rotation thereof from the off toward the on position causes said connecting pin to be disposed inthe vertical portion of said connecting slot and rotation 9 of said =knob' causes rotation of said stem and said rotary valve, and so that if said safety valve closure member is open when said knob is axially moved to facilitate movement from said off position toward said on position, said connecting pin is disposed in the horizontal portion of said connecting slot and said knob. is rotated with respect to said stem and said rotary valve.

4.- A fuel control valve comprising: a valve body having a flow passage therethrough; thermocouple operated safety valve means including a valve closure member in said passage and an electromagnet to hold said closure member'open when said magnet is energized and said closure member is otherwise opened; a rotary valve mem her in said passage in series with said safety valve and rotatable between off, pilot, and on positions; a manual control knob for rotating said rotary valve and for opening the safety valve; programming means intermediate said knob and said body and rendering said knob operable between off, pilot and on positions only by a fixed sequence of manipulations including both axial movement and angular rotation of said knob; and connecting means between said knob and said rotary valve and including means operably connected to said safety valve and axially movable between a first position when said safety valve is closed and a second position when said safety valve is open, said connecting means providing a continuous unidirectional connection between said knob and said rotary valve in the angular direction from the on position towards the pilot and off positions of said rotary valve but providing a connection therebetween in the opposite angular direction only when said knob and said connecting means occupy certain predetermined relative axial positions so that said knob is operably connected to said rotary valve during operation of said knob from its off position toward its pilot position only if said safety valve is closed, and so that said knob is operably connected to said rotary valve during operation of said knob from its pilot toward its on positions only if said safety valve is open.

A fuel control valve comprising: a valve body having a flow passage therethrough; safety valve means including a valve closure member in said passage and a flame responsive means to hold saidclosure member open When it is otherwise manually opened; a rotary valve member in said passage in series with said safety valve and rotatable between off, and on positions; a manual control knob for rotating said rotary valve; programming means intermediate said knob and said body and rendering said knob operable between off and on positions only by a fixed sequence of manipulations including both axial movement and angular rotation of said knob; and connecting means between said knob and said rotary valve and including means operably connected to said safety valve and movable between a first position when said safety valve is closed and a second position when said safety valve is open, said connecting means providing a continuous unidirectional connection between said knob and said rotary valve in the angular direction from the on position towards the off position of said r0- tary valve but providing a connection therebetween in the opposite angular direction only when said knob and said connecting means occupy certain predetermined relative positions so that said knob is operably connected to said rotary valve during operation of said knob from its off toward its on position only if said safety valve is closed.

6. In a fuel control valve of the type having a valve body with a flow passage therethrough, thermocouple operated safety valve means including a valve closure member in the passage and an electromagnet to hold the closure member open when the magnet is energized and the closure member is otherwise opened, a rotary valve member in the passage in series with the safety valve and rotatable between off, pilot, and on positions, and

a manual control knob for rotating the rotary valve and for opening the safety valve, the improvement comprising: connecting means between the knob and the rotary valve and including means providing a continuous untdirectional connection between the knob and the rotary valve in the angular direction from the on position towards the pilot and off positions of the rotary valve and providing a disengageable connection therebetween in the opposite angular direction, said connecting means including means operably connected to the safety valve and operable in response to the position of said safety valve to operably disengage the disengageable connection when the rotary valve is in the pilot position and the safety valve is closed and when the rotary, valve is m the off position or in a position between the off and pilot positions and the safety valve is open.

7. In a gas valve of the type having a flow passage therethrough, a rotary valve disposed in said flow passage and movable between flame sustaining and flame extinguishing angular positions, manual means for moving the rotary valve between the angular positions, safety valve means disposed in the flow passage in series relationship with the rotary valve and movable between open and closed positions, safety valve operating means including means adapted to be controlled by a flame responsive device and operable thereby between a flame and a no flame condition, the operating means including means for holding the safety valve in an open position when the operating means is in its flame condition and the safety Valve is otherwise opened, the improvement comprising: means normally providing a driving connection between the manual operating means and the rotary valve and responsive to the angular position of the rotary valve and the condition of the safety valve operating means to operably disconnect the manual operating means from the rotary valve when the rotary valve is in a flame extinguishing position and the safety valve operating means is in its flame condition. 1

8. A fuel valve comprising: a valve body having inlet and outlet ports connected by a passage through said body; a rotary control valve disposed in said passage and movable between flame sustaining and flame extinguishing angular positions; a manual control member for rotating said rotary valve; a safety valve mounted in series relation with said rotary valve in said passage and movable between open and closed positions; operating means for said safety valve and including means responsive to the presence of flame at a burner controlled by the fuel valve to hold the safety valve open when it is otherwise opened; and means operably disconnecting said manual control member from said rotary valve when said rotary valve is disposed in a flame extinguishing position and said safety valve is open.

9. In a fuel valve of the type having a thermocouple operated safety valve disposed in a passage through the valve body in series with a rotary valve rotatable between disengageable connecting means between the manual knob for rotating the valve, the improvement comprising: disengageable connecting means between the manual knob and the valve and including means operably connected to said thermocouple operated safety valve and responsive to the position thereof to operably disengage the manual knob and the valve when the valve is disposed in its off position or in an angular position between its off and pilot positions when the safety valve is open.

10. A control device comprising a valve body having an inlet and at least one outlet, a wall having an aperture therethrough and located between said inlet and said out let, a rotary valve cooperable with said wall aperture to control fuel flow to a burner through said outlet, safety means movable between a first position and a second positron for controlling fuel flow to the burner, means responsive to a flame for holding said safety means in its second position to permit fuel flow to the burner only when a flame is present at the burner, operating means having limited relative movement with respect to said rotary valve and being movable between off and fuel-flow positions, said ope-rating means including connecting means which permits rotary movement between said operating means and said valve in one relative position therebetween and preventing rotary movement therebetween in other relative positions thereof, programming means including means movable with said operating means and means on said valve body, said programming means operating simultaneously with said connecting means to enable said operating means to move said valve from its off position to its fuel-flow position when said safety means is in its first position and to move said safety means from said first position to said second position at said fuel-flow position to supply fuel to the burner, said programming means and said connecting means being so constructed and arranged that the operating means is incapable of moving said valve from its position or a position between said off and fuel flow positions to the fuel-flow position unless said safety means is in its first position.

11. A control device comprsing a valve body having an inlet and at least one outlet, a wall having an aperture therethrough located between said inlet and said outlet, a rotary valve cooperable with said wall aperture to control fuel flow to a pilot burner through said outlet, safety means movable between a first position and a second position for controlling fuel flow to a main burner, means responsive to a flame for holding said safety means in its second position to permit fuel flow to the main burner only when a flame is present at the pilot burner, operating means having limited relative movement with respect to said rotary valve and being movable between off, pilot and on positions, said operating means including connecting means which permits rotary movement between said operatingmeans and said valve in one relative position thereof and preventing rotary movement therebetween in other relative positions thereof, programming means including means movable with said operating means and means on said valve body cooperable therewith and operating simultaneously with said connecting means to enable said operating means to move said valve from its off position to its pilot position when said safety means is in its first position and to move said safety means from said first position to said second position at said pilot position and to move to said on position to cause said control means to supply fuel to the main burner only if said flame responsive means is holding said safety means in its second position, said programming means being so arranged that said operating means is incapable of moving said valve from its off position, or from a position between said off and pilot positions, to said pilot position unless said safety means is in its first position.

12. In a fuel flow control device having a valve body with an inlet and at least one outlet and a wall with an aperture therethrough located between said inlet and said outlet, the combination comprising: a rotary valve cooperable with said wall aperture to control fuel flow to a pilot burner through said outlet, safety means movable between a first position and a second position for controlling fuel flow to a main burner, meansresponsive to a flame for holding said safety means in its second position to permit fuel flow to the main burner only when a flame is present at the pilot burner, operating means axially displaceable with respect to said rotary valve and movable between off, pilot and on positions, said operating means including lost-motion connecting means which permits relative rotary movement between said operating means and said valve in one axial position therebetween and preventing rotary movement therebetween in other axial positions thereof, programming means including cooperating means on said operating means and on said valve body operating simultaneously with said lost-motion connecting means to enable said operating means to move said valve from its off position to its pilot position when said safety means is in its first position and to move said safety means from said first position to said second position at said pilot position and to move to the on position to cause said control means to supply fuel to the main burner only if said flame responsive means is holding said safety means in its second position, said programming means being so arranged that said operating means is incapable of moving said valve from its off position, or from a position between said off and pilot positions, to said pilo position unless said safety means is in its first position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,799,454 7/ 1957 Rouse 137-66 XR 2,988,098 6/1961 Thomas 137--66 3,099,994 8/1963 Putz et al. 13766 3,303,866 2/1967 Ray l58--131 FOREIGN PATENTS 771,524 4/ 1957 Great Britain.

WILLIAM -F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

R. GERARD, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,348,561 October 24, 1967 John R. MacLennan error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that t the said Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and tha corrected below.

Column 10, line 57, strike out "disengageable connecting means between the manual" and insert instead "of", "pilot" and "on" positions and having a manual Signed and sealed this 27th day of May 1969.

(SEAL) Attest: Z

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of atents 

1. A FUEL VALVE COMPRISING: A BODY HAVING A PASSAGE THERETHROUGH; SAFETY VALVE MEANS INCLUDING A VALVE CLOSURE MEMBER IN SAID PASSAGE AND FLAME RESPONSIVE MEANS TO HOLD SAID CLOSURE MEMBER OPEN WHEN IT IS OTHERWISE OPENED; A ROTARY VALVE MEMBER IN SAID PASSAGE IN SERIES WITH SAID SAFETY VALVE CLOSURE MEMBER AND ROTATABLE BETWEEN "OFF" "PILOT" AND "ON" POSITIONS; A MANUAL CONTROL KNOB FOR ROTATING SAID ROTARY VALVE AND FOR MANUALLY OPENING SAID SEFETY VALVE CLOSURE MEMBER; PROGRAMMING MEANS BETWEEN SAID VALVE BODY AND SAID KNOB AND INCLUDING A PROGRAMMING GUIDE ON ONE AND A COOPERATING SLOT ON THE OTHER, SAID PROGRAMMING MEANS RENDERING SAID KNOB ROTATABLE FROM SAID "OFF" POSITION TOWARD SAID "PILOT" POSITION ONLY UPON SAID KNOB BEING DEPRESSED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY, PERMITTING FURTHER DEPRESSION OF SAID KNOB TO ACCOMPLISH MANUAL OPENING OF SAID SAFETY VALVE CLOSURE MEMBER ONLY WHEN SAID KNOB IS IN SAID "PILOT" POSITION, AND PERMITTING ROTATION OF SAID KNOB FROM SAID "PILOT" POSITION TO SAID "ON" POSITION ONLY WHEN SAID KNOB IS RETRACTED FROM SAID BODY A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE; A VALVE STEM NONROTATABLY CONNECTED TO SAID ROTARY VALVE MEMBER BUT AXIALLY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT THERETO AND OPERABLY CONNECTED TO SAID SAFETY VALVE CLOSURE MEMBER; CONNECTING MEANS BETWEEN SAID KNOB AND SAID VALVE STEM AND INCLUDING A T-SHAPED CONNECTING SLOT ON ONE OF SAID KNOB OR STEM, THE SLOT INCLUDING A VERTICAL PORTION HAVING AN UPPER PORTION AND A LOWER PORTION AND INTERSECTED SUBSTANTIALLY AT ITS VERTICAL CENTER BY A HORIZONTAL SLOT WHICH EXTENDS IN ONE DIRECTION FROM SAID VERTICL SLOT; AND A CONNECTING PIN RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF SAID KNOB OR STEM AND DISPOSED IN SAID SLOT, SAID CONNECTING PIN AND SLOT AND SAID PROGRAMMING SLOT AND GUIDE BEING SO ARRANGED THAT WHEN SAID SAFETY VALVE IS CLOSED, DEPRESS- 